The Louisiana Democrat., 1887-02-23
IN THE MIDDLE WEST.
A Story of Life in the Great
Mississippi Valley.
BY ALVA MILTON KERR.
tCopYRIGBT, 1886, BY THE A. N. KELLOGG
NEWSPAPER CoMPANY.l
CHAPTER xXvI.-CoNr1NUED

merly, and the glass was a little Oft t
ener at his lips; but then steam must |
be kept up, he said to himself, and all
his enemies must be placated in this
supreme season, and all debts of malice
due him, together with all bitter dates,
expunged from the calendar OF his
years.
He met John Earling the next day
after the Young mans return, and a
vail of darkness fell over his face, but
it was quickly swept aside by dash
of rather sheepish sunshine, and ne
grasped the sober young fellows hand
hilariously and went putting onward.
He had thickened; the little stairway
of chins that hid its foot behind his
loose neck-cloth had added step or
two, and his tread was heavy. Still
he had not nearly done with life, he
thought; had been a driver OF things
from youth up; had conquered riches.
no matter how, and now he would
conquer honor, and as for that, too, no
matter how.
Through these days John Earnings
life ran on like something parched,
like something parted from the sweet
enlivening touch of rain and dew.
His little room up under the roof OF
Bowers Block, and the office of Bower
& Earling, became again his almost
exclusive haunts; the scenes OF his toll,
his study, bis vigils, his sutferlngs' his
dreams.
By times he went out to the cottage
beyond the river where the sun was
burning at the worlds edge and sat
awhile on Captain Heaters porch.
That foury person seemed never less
liable to start up and run than during
these visits. No hour. to him seemed
quite so full of sociability and good
cheer as when, with the twins gambol-
ing in the grass at the end of the
house, and Ether sewing inside the
open window, he and John Earling sat
through long silences and watched the
sun 60 down.
Absalom, however, was not always
so content to sit upon his porch; for
should Julius Popp's cleaning glasses.
Or the expressive visage of Yeslit. be
deserted ascending the hill, nothing
less coercive than instant death would
probably have restrained him from
tiptoeing with terror out the back way
and down the back path to the mill,
followed by Ether's laughter. To have
remained through the lingual flood
that descended upon the cottage with
such occasions, to him, would have
been not unlike an hour of dark and
fragmentary delirium. Nevertheless,
it often descended, and having exhaust
ed itself, left Julius, since Mrs. Popp
had supplanted him with the little con-
servatory upon her own, languidly
stranded upon Absalom's porch, with
his heels high on the rail, and his blink
ing eyes watching the smoke of his ci-
gar, and the figments of his mind dis
solve together in the air. One among
the divers images that thronged the
weeds blue vapor especially invited
his eyes to follow. 1t was vision of
Joel in Congress, with his swollen son
holding through Yeslit the position of
son to himself All! what brilliant
lifting up! On such occasions he could
not forbear cracking his heels together
on the rail, and fetching long de-
licious "Hah!" as if he had just
uldWu ooWu hioo0 Sioilouo Suip
of liquor. And the thing seemed
not improbable. Joeps nets
were drawing inward, his wires focus
ing upon himself, and, set to focus him
in the worlds eye, were growing taut,
while Harry, circling in the glow that
surrounded the phosphorescent Yeslit,
seemed ever drawing nearer and near
er the honied flame. The first fact
Mrs. Whitney was ignorant Of; for Joel
discreetly cloaked his ambition from
every one, save within the month he
had slowly uncovered it to select and
obedient few, who, from under the
secret shelter of his wings, were tc
carry it to the many at the right mo.
ment; but of the latter fact Mrs. Whit
ney was fully cognizant, and sallowed
and yellowed, and greened, and fumed
and wrought herself all to no purpose
into the jaundice over it. Harry die
nothing which was nothing new
she averred to Joel, "but dangle, ant
dangle, and dangle, after that pre-
suming, planning, chattering PopI
girl. 1t was fishing after position OF
her part, too abominable for patience
III WAS SuOuSH W SCb OIlC w llu' ain
Joel had gruffiy intimated in return
that the chattering Popp cir
would probably 60 wild enough hersel
in time if she married him" An,
Mrs. Whitney had rejoined that 81
was hateful and miserable in him t.
talk so!'' And Joel had further re
turned "that the girl was a might.
sight the best of the two, and carriet
more sand to the square inch thai
their stall-fed sucking did to the cubi
ward" and other like observations
that had the effect of putting Mrs
Whitney to bed with the Mysteries
Very dark were the sacks under Joel
eyes on such occasions; not that tn
girl was not meet for his son, for h
honestly thought her too good, bu
that his son did nothing but dress
play billiards and lounge; in short wa
an idler, to Joel the most incompre
hensble anddespicable thing under tn
sun. He knew why it was, or though
he knew; the boy had had feather
bed life; had never felt necessity push
ing him into action; had been softl
cushioned and padded on all sides fror
work; it was his mothers fault. Alas
after ali. this was what riches had don
for him! 1t had made his only so
something else than Man!
Still, Joel was a good deal numbe
to life's little stings in these days b
the approaching birth OF his long-nurt
ured project That its delivery shoul
be successful was naturally to him
supreme care; had it been accompanie
h. locc riort dnSira Inrh Ii